The Beginning
by Treehugginghippiexo
Summary: During Luna Lovegood's stay at Malfoy Manor, she makes a friend and ends up changing his life. A one-shot.


**A****.N: This is my very first one-shot and Luna and Draco story. I will most likely will write other one shots that go along with this one so keep a look out for those in the future. So I hope you people enjoy this.**

** Disclaimer: I do and will probably never own Harry Potter.**

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A muggle writer once said that, "Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over." For Draco Malfoy, who saw this quote written on the wall at a muggle coffee shop a couple months ago, strength is hard to come by for him. He has watched his entire world crumble around while he just stood there to afraid to change anything. He stood around and watched as people were hurt and killed by Voldemort, and no matter how much he disliked or thought it was wrong, he did nothing to stop it. The last few months of the war Draco's views on the war had shifted and he no longer agreed with his parents and Voldemort. He still believed that muggle-born witches and wizards were beneath him, but no one deserved to be treated like Voldemort treated people. But he never did anything about it, he had multiple chances to stop the torture and the killing, but he was to much of a coward. He was to afraid of what would happen to him if he stepped up and said something. All he ever thought about was himself, never about the other people around him.

Now he sees his mistakes and now he wishes that he could go back and make better choices. He could have went to Dumbledore and asked for help when he revived his task in his sixth year, but instead he went along with it and hurt multiple people on his quest to kill Dumbledore. After that everything in his life spiraled out of control, Voldemort took up resident in his house, crazed Death Eaters were always present, there was prisoners in the dungeons in his house (he didn't even know they had a dungeon), and at last the war had officially begun.

That time in his life was filled with constant fear and dread and there was no escape. No matter where he went he could not escape the gloom and death that was hanging like thick fog around his life. Life went on like that for months, until a group of Death Eaters brought in a very unusual prisoner. It was just before Christmas, Draco would have been on his way home from Hogwarts on the train if he was at the school, when they brought her in. She was wearing light purple overalls and a dark red turtleneck. Her hair was falling around her in dirty blond messy curls, her lip was bleeding, and it looked like someone might have punched her on the cheek because it was red and puffy. Even though a Death Eater was holding on to the top of her scalp, her face was tranquil like she was calculating something and her gray eyes kept searching around the room looking perhaps for an escape route.

What surprised him the most was that he knew the girl, it was Luna Lovegood a girl that he use to tease and taunt at Hogwarts for her dottiness and strange beliefs. As he looked upon her there standing in front of Voldemort and looking him straight in the eyes and not flinching. His whole opinion of her changed, she was doing something that he was to afraid to do, she was standing up to the enemy and she wasn't afraid. Gone was her dottiness and what replaced it was determination, you could see it in the way she held her self. Her body looked like it was ready to strike at any minute if she saw an opening, like a snake with its pray.

Draco watched as she was interrogated by Voldemort and his Aunt, as they questioned her on the whereabouts of Harry Potter and used the cruciatus curse when she told him that she did not know. He had seen the three Unforgivable Curses used before on many people before her, however seeing it used on someone that was always so carefree and innocent caused something to stir inside of him. He couldn't put a name on the new feeling at the time but it caused him to later volunteer to go and feed the prisoners just to see her. He had no idea what possessed him to do it but something inside of him needed to be close to something that still had hope, because he lost that a long time ago.

When he went down to the dungeons with the food he didn't dare talk to her or the elderly wand maker but he did watch her carefully. He wanted to know how she did it, how she was so brave, so maybe he could possibly learn from her. That is how it really all began, how he discovered that there is really something to fight for out there, and that it is worth all that it takes to get it. Granted it took him awhile to fully recognize it, but he was heavily influenced by his parents for years and that is not something that is broken in one night. However, something did change in Draco that day and from that day on he was drawn to Luna Lovegood like a moth to a flame.

Some how over the time that Luna was imprisoned in his house he and Luna became friends as weird as it sounds. He would bring her her food and they would sit there in the dark and talk about many things. About the outside world and the stuff going on inside the house, some times she would talk about the many places she visited with her father and that she wished that Draco could have had a family like she had. At one point he remembers trying to convince her to change sides so she could be safe but she just told him no and that she is fighting for the rights of others. She then asked him why didn't he just change sides and he answered that it would be impossible to do so because he and his family would be killed. The next day Luna was taken upstairs to be questioned again and the used the unforgivable curse again, Draco was in his bedroom when they did this and even two floors up he could her her blood curdling screams.

Those screams he would hear in his nightmares for the rest of his life because by that point he had grown to care for the strange girl down in the dungeon. That day he told himself that he would find away to free her from her imprisonment even if he had to sacrifice himself. Lucky for him the next day snatchers came in with Harry Potter and his friends, Draco was asked to identify him. When it came time tell Voldemort if it was really Harry Potter, Draco was sadly to his own dislike to afraid to straight up lie to the Dark Lord even if it could help Luna. So he told them that it could be and hoped for the best, and if luck would have it Harry Potter escaped and took all the prisoners with him. Draco was relived that Luna was finally free and that she would be safe in Harry Potter's protection, no matter how much he disliked the kid.

Not to long after that the Battle of Hogwarts took place and Draco was faced with the decision to either change sides or stay with Voldemort. He was torn because if he changed sides he would go against his whole family but on the other hand he knew what fighting on the other side would maybe lead to a better future, one where him and Luna could be together in peace. He was still battling with this decision as he was running through the school searching for Luna but he didn't find her, he instead found Crabbe and Goyle and then in-turn found Harry Potter in the Room of Requirement. Which he was in because that is where he knew the kids from Dumbledore's Army were hiding out during the school year.

Inside the room he tried to get back his wand which Harry had taken from him but Crabbe had to be stupid and use a curse that he couldn't control and soon the whole room was in flamed. Sadly in the fire Crabbe perished, him and Goyle were rescued by Harry. After that everything became one big blur, he remembers running around the castle looking for Luna dodging spells and curses thrown at him by people on both sides. Non of that mattered at the moment, all that mattered was that he had to find Luna and make sure she was okay. After awhile of running around aimlessly Voldemort's voice came over the fighting and announced to everyone that he would stop the fighting if Harry Potter would just come by himself into the forest to fight him himself. They had one hour to decide. Draco hoped beyond hope that Harry would do the right thing and go and face him so all the fighting would stop. He didn't really have much time to think about that because he was still looking for Luna.

He ran all over the castle searching and at one point he even asked someone if they have seen her. That only got him a well aimed spell to the face which he manged to dodge by jumping behind a wall. He just made it down to the Great Hall when he heard a loud scream coming from outside. He noticed that everyone was outside on the steps, so he followed them outside to see what was going on. Outside he got to witness Hagrid the half-giant carrying the lifeless body of Harry Potter up to the school. Followed closely by Voldemort and his army. With the sight of the dead Harry Potter the little hope that Draco had for a better future intensely vanished.

He searched the crowed for Luna and found her standing toward the front of the crowd watching the scene with cold eyes, for her hope was also gone. It took all his will power not to comfort her, he thought that it would be safer for her that way. So instead he moved his eyes to Voldemort's army in search of his parents, he found them standing not to far away from Voldemort himself. What happen next Draco tuned out just wanting all the fighting to be over, so it was a shock to him when everything started up again.

He found himself being pushed into the Great Hall by people and all around him the battle raged on. And he was over come with a desire to fight and protect, so he once again went on the search for Luna. He found her fighting his Aunt with the Weasley girl and Granger. He watched as a killing curse barely missed Weasley. All of the sudden Weasley's mother came up and started fighting, she fought viciously and in the end she defeated his Aunt and he watched as she died. The thing is he didn't really feel any sadness at her death, she was never really much of an Aunt to him.

The next thing Draco knew was that everyone suddenly stopped fighting and there standing in the middle of everyone was one very much alive Harry Potter. Draco remembers thinking, 'Really? How many times is that kid going to have to die?' Even though Draco still disliked the kid; he was very happy to see him alive. That meant that they still had a chance. Draco listen has Harry explained all about the Elder wand and him, that really surprised him, who knew he had helped the good guys in the end? He watched as Voldemort and Harry both cast their spells at the same time and how the two spells connected for a moment in gold flames. And then Voldemort's wand went flying at of his hand has his spell back fired on him. Voldemort went flying backwards and then falls to the ground with a thumb.

At first it didn't register to Draco that Voldemort was dead and that the war was over. He just stood there staring at Voldemort's corpse not really knowing what to feel. He was happy that it was finally over and that he would be safe for once in a long long time, but at the same time he was a little afraid about what the future would bring. What was he going to do now, the Ministry would surly throw him in prison for all the crimes he committed through out his short life. So even though the war was finally over, Draco was still trapped in a life that he could not escape from. The one thing he could look forward to was seeing Luna again, he did not care what others would think, all he cared about was that she was safe.

Soon everyone was celebrating and cheering and all around just being jolly, and through the crowd Draco caught a quick glimpse of Luna surrounded by people. She looked so beautifully to Draco with her hair falling wildly around her and her gray eyes filled with joy. Sadly that was the last time Draco would see Luna for quite some time, because as soon as his parents found him they left as quickly as they could, not even giving Draco time to talk to her. Who knew that it would almost be a whole year before they could see each other again?

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Presently Draco is standing in a clearing of the Forbidden Forest watching the thestrals graze. Its funny how he use to be so afraid to enter into the forest just eight years ago and now he comes here to get away from the people at the school. Now the forest feels more inviting with its deadly creatures and the dark things that lurk in the shadows than the human beings that dwell up at the school. He came back to school to escape the real world and relax a little, but its been anything but relaxing. The kids avoid him and glare at him as he walks down the hallways of the Castle. He spends his days alone and never speaks to anyone, he doesn't really mind that that much, but he just can't stand how they continually glare at him. He knows that what he did during the war were bad but he couldn't help that, he was basically forced into it, and besides the Ministry didn't send him to Azkaban. They dropped the charges as long has he did things in the community, which he did and still does. He wants to restore his family's honor and reputation, he wants everybody to know his family for the good things that he is going to do, not the bad things they did in the past.

That is what he has been doing since the war ended. He started by going to the Ministry himself instead of waiting for them to come and find him. They charged him and he went to trail, but since Harry Potter came in and testified for him, telling the counsel about how he didn't tell Voldemort that it was him when he was captured and also that he was lowering his wand when Snape killed Dumbledore, they didn't put him jail. And instead gave him community service, so he then spent time helping repair Hogwarts and spent some time helping at St. Mongals. He also gave a considerable amount of money to the Ministry to help with the rebuilding of the wizarding world and the people. He felt that it was his duty to help, and what else was he going to do? Sit at home with his mother who was on house arrest for the foreseeable future while his father wastes away in prison? No, he was not going to do that, so life just went on for a few months. Then he received word that Hogwarts was reopening and that everyone that either was not there for the previous year or wanted to redo it, was aloud to return along with incoming first years. He made the decision to go back for his final year to finish his education and so that he could get some type of job at the Ministry when he was done.

Whatever happened with Luna Lovegood you wonder. Well Draco at first was so busy that he did not have the time and to go and see her. Then when he had the time too, he convinced him self that he isn't good enough for her, that she deceivers someone better then him. And besides she couldn't possibly love someone who imprisoned her in their house for months. So now he spends a lot of the time avoiding her in the Castle, he just does not have the courage to talk to her. He hasn't the slightest idea what to say to her, he can't just come out and tell her he has been in love with her since the day she was brought into his house. That would not go over well with her, since he has been avoiding her. He knows that at some point he is going to have to say something to her, like apologizing for what his family put her through. He's not ready for that, he doesn't want to see the sadness and pain come into her beautiful eyes. He does not want to bring up painful memory s of those days, he would rather just go on avoiding her and have her be happy with out him. Little does he know that Luna Lovegood is far from happy without him in her life.

Unaware to Draco Luna has been escaping the Castle the same way as he has, she has been coming to the Forbidden Forests for weeks now to get away from the school. Much like Draco, the kids up at the school have begun to bother her. All they want to do is talk to her and ask her questions about the war, or they are staring at her and whispering. It has become quite annoying and sometimes she wishes things could go back to how they treated her before the war ended. Were they ignored her and all they did was call her names, that was easy to deal with All she had to was ignore them and they would go away, now she has to talk to them or else they would think she is being rude. To make things worse the guy that she is in love with has been avoiding her, blatantly so. She would be walking down the hallway going to class and she would see him coming towards her and then he would turn around and walk as fast has could back down the hallway away from her.

She knows that he feels bad for what his family did to her, but he doesn't know that she doesn't hold that against him. It was Voldemort who ordered her to be imprisoned, not his family. She thought that they were becoming friends down in he cellar and maybe something more. Now she just wishes that he would speak to her, look at her ,or something. She can't stand his silence, it has driven her mad, it is at the point that she wants to grab him by the collar of his shirt and yell at him to understand that it wasn't his fought.

That is why she is down in the Forbidden Forest, trying to stay away from him so she doesn't do anything to him. She walks slowly into the thestrals clearing unafraid of the forest around her. Really what is there to be afraid of? She fought all kinds of dark things in her short life and stood in front of the darkest of wizards of all time and survived. Werewolves and centaurs are nothing for her. What she was not expecting was to find Draco Malfoy standing in the middle of the clearing watching the thestrals eat. She walks up to him and stops next him and stands there looking around at the forest and the thestrals. Neither one of them talk; they just stand there in peaceful silence as the creatures in the clearing move around them.

After standing for who knows how long in silence Luna finally asks the question that she has been wanting to ask since the beginning of the school year. "Are we ever going to talk about what happened?" She asks looking up at him, he continues to watch the thestrals unable to say anything. Luna sighs and looks down at the ground. "I don't blame you for what happened during the war." She tells him putting her hands behind her back. "You didn't put me in your dungeon. Voldemort did, not you." She adds. Draco finally looks down at her.

"You should. It was my house." He says closing his eyes has the grief flows through him. "I just sat in that house every day and heard you scream as they tortured you; and I didn't do anything about it." He says as a tear slips down his face.

"It wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done to help me. They would have killed you." Luna tells him as she gently places his left hand in her right hand and squeezes it. Trying to comfort him.

"I should have let them kill me instead."

"No! I would have never forgiven you if you had done that. I care too much for you to have had you die for me." She says with conviction tightening her hold on his hand. Draco pulls his hand away from hers.

"You should hate me. Everything that happened, all the things I have done to you during our school years, you should hate me." Luna shakes her head not agreeing with him. "Do you know that I use to call you Looney Lovegood and I use to make fun of you."

"Everyone did, I really didn't care that much." Luna says telling the truth. It never bothered her.

"You should also know that it was me and some other people that use to steal your things and hide them around the school." He admits to her. Luna is not that shocked by this, she knew that nargles couldn't be behind all of her things disappearing.

"It doesn't matter, all that stuff happened in the past. I don't live in the past; I live in the present, the here and now. What happened back then happened and we can't go back and fix it. Because that stuff happened for a reason and it is what turned me into the person that I am today. I am a stronger person thanks to those people back then and for what happened during my stay in your dungeon. I wouldn't go back and change it." She says looking him in the eye and grabbing his hand again. "Do you want to know something? I think all that stuff that happened during the war happened because I was suppose to be imprisoned at your house, so I could met you. So I could help you become a better person and get you out of your bad situation."

"So all the stuff that happened to you was because you were suppose to met me?" Draco asks in disbelief. Luna nods.

"Yes. Everything happens for a reason. I don't know why, but I do know that a good thing did come out of it. I fell in love with you." Luna says looking down at the ground a blush forming on her face. Draco is shocked he was not expecting her to say that.

"What? You love me?" He asks, Luna nods unsure of how he will respond. "I-I love you too. I wanted to tell you the night of the final battle but I couldn't find you. I ran around the whole castle and didn't find you anywhere. And when I finally did I couldn't go and talk to you. Then I had to leave, and then I was to busy to talk to you, and finally I convinced myself that you deserved someone better then me."

"I don't want anyone else, I want you." Luna says looking up at him. He looks down at her still unsure.

"Really?"

"Always."

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**Please view. I would love to know how well I did at writing these two characters. Thanks a bunch.-Treehugginghippiexo**


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